PANAJI: The preliminary meeting of Goa's House Committee to review issues concerning to River Mhadei will be held on February 8, Joint Secretary of Legislature Hercules Noronha has informed 

The other members of the committee include MLAs from BJP, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, Congress, AAP, MGP,  RG and independent MLAs.

Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai, who is also a panel member of the House Committee, had on Saturday in a written request to the WRD Minister demanded to convene a House Committee meeting forthwith to get to the bottom of the issue.

Sardesai had said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Mhadei diversion is like a 'bomb explosion' on the people of the state.

Nilesh Cabral, the environment minister for Goa, on Monday rebuked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks regarding the Mhadei diversion issue. Since the Central Water Commission authorised the Detailed Project Report of Karnataka for the contentious Kalsa-Banduri dam, the BJP administration in Goa has come under fire.

On Saturday, the tension reached a boiling point when Amit Shah claimed that the Central government had settled the conflict between the two states. "I disapprove with the remarks made by Amit Shah, the home minister. First of all, this specific topic (resolving conflict) was not brought up when we met him (on January 11). We had asked for CWC to revoke the permission it had given. We never talked about giving DPR our consent" Cabral said.

During a rally in Belagavi on Saturday,  Amit Shah said: "In 2007, Sonia Gandhi stated that the Congress government would not permit the Mhadei water to be diverted to Karnataka during a speech in Goa. Congress in their manifesto said that Karnataka won't receive any water from Mhadei. Today, I am here to tell you that the BJP at the Centre has resolved the long dispute between Karnataka and  Goa over Mhadei and allowed the diversion of Mhadei to Karnataka to satisfy the thirst of farmers of many districts."

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